Halo: Clandestine
by Diggeratarms
Summary: Reach had fallen, but Noble Six has not. After returning to Earth with the UNSC Gettysburg and the survivors of the first Halo, Six is once again under the command of the Office of Naval Intelligence, working behind the scenes to save Humanity and avenge his fallen teammates. Eventual pairing, Six/Olympia Vale. First Fic, all feedback is appreciated.
1. Prologue: Escaping Reach & Cairo Station

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any material relating to the Halo universe, all copyrights belong to Microsoft and 343 Studios.**_

**Prologue - Escaping Reach & Cairo Station**

* * *

**Aszod, Viery Territory, Reach**  
**Lieutenant Jeremy-B312, "Noble Six"**  
**August 30, 2552**

The sun gleamed off of his Crimson armor, as he watched the Pillar of Autumn begin its ascent out of the atmosphere, "This is the pillar of Autumn, we're away. The package is with us." Captain Keyes announced, then the comm-link was dead, he was alone. Six knew this was how it would end, and while he was prepared to die like the rest of NOBLE team, he wouldn't make it easy for the Covenant.

The familiar sound of Phantoms echoed in his ears, Banshees patrolled the sky, and Covenant ground forces were encroaching upon his position. Six shouldered his DMR and prepared for the last fight of his life.

No.

He was not prepared to die, not now, not ever. Whatever fate the Covenant had planned for him could wait. He had to escape Aszod first, Six looked towards the mountain ranges, CASTLE base would be the safest location for him, it would be a long journey. His mind made up, he set to escape dry dock before it was too late.

Six makes it down the stairway down to the ground before breaking into a sprint to reach cover, breaking line of sight with the incoming Phantoms. He could hear the Covenant behind him, a Zealot barking orders to some Grunts, searching the area Six had just been, no time to look back now.

It wasn't long before he had escaped the ship yards, the Covenant were still looking out for survivors however. He came across structures in the hills, keeping low to the ground and using cover and shadows to stay out of sight, Six approached them. He discovered multiple dead Spartans, Six scavenged what he could from their bodies, an unsavory but necessary act if he was going to survive.

He moved from structure to structure, gathering what he could; ammunition, medical supplies, rations, anything that could help him on his journey. Unfortunately Phantoms were approaching, he could not stay in this area for longer, and so he set out to continue towards Menachite mountain, and CASTLE base.

Six continued to trek for several hours, the journey would take him several weeks, and he was uncertain if he would even be able to enter the base. Hopefully there were other survivors still there, a fact that didn't matter unless he made it there before he was glassed along with the rest of the Viery territory.

He continued to walk even as the sun disappeared, if he was going to make it, he wouldn't have the luxury of sleep to comfort him. He was used to it, the journey to New Alexandria took him nine days to complete, and he had survived longer on various other clandestine operations. Regardless he carried on with the journey ahead, with nothing but survival on his mind.

* * *

**Master Chief John-117**

**Menachite Mountain, Viery Territory, Reach**

**September 23, 2552**

"Sir, we are to rendezvous with Cortan-." Master Chief was cut off by an incoming communication, every survivor on board the dropship seemed to receive it as well.

"This is Spartan-B312! Requesting support from any UNSC personnel in the area, my location is just south of Menachite mountain!" The message continued to loop, silence reigned over the survivors as Admiral Whitcomb contemplated turning the dropship around.

"Polaski, how much time do we have to reach the flagship?" Admiral Whitcomb asked the pilot.

"Around twenty minutes sir! We should be able to reach the communications signal and make it to the ship on time, but the LZ will be hot!" Polaski replied.

"We are going to need every Spartan we can get, Polaski, set course for that signal." Ordered Admiral Whitcomb, "Master Chief, you will take every combat ready Spartan and recover another survivors in the area, you will only have a small amount of time before we need to depart." He finished.

"Affirmative." Confirmed the Chief.

* * *

**Lieutenant Jeremy-B312, "Noble Six"**

The Covenant were tenacious, Six would give them that, no matter how many Elites he felled, more came to reinforce them. Six had reached Menachite mountain to see a massive Covenant taskforce, already in combat, which meant there were UNSC survivors, he attempted to reach them through comms, but has not received a response. Despite all of his efforts, it seemed this was the end of the line.

He unleashed a volley of rounds from his Assault Rifle, killing a Zealot charging him with an Energy Sword, several plasma bolts collided with Six, breaking his shields and damaging his visor. He gasped in pain as more cracks appeared in his helmet, soon he couldn't see with the helmet on, he removed his Commando Helmet and continued the fight.

Six pulled out his M6D to finish off an Elite right, and continued to spray down the larger masses with his Assault Rifle. He caught an approaching Elite with his elbow, and filled him with AR rounds before he was disarmed by another Zealot.

Despite his skill in hand to hand combat, Six was not able to last long against the assault from the Energy Sword wielding Elites. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, his sight fading fast, but in what he thought were his last moments he heard a message come through his helmet less than a meter away.

"Spartan-B321, this is Sierra-117, standby for immediate assistance." Said an unknown voice, as the message finish the Elites on top of Six were mowed down by small arms fire, and he felt his body being dragged along the ground as his vision failed.

* * *

**October 20, 2552**

**Cairo Station, Earth Orbit**

**Lieutenant Jeremy-B312, "Noble Six"**

Six inspected the details of his new armor, the MJOLNIR Mark VI, it had the same crimson-gray color scheme as his previous set of Mark V. It had a retrofitted Commando model Helmet and Mark V pauldrons, but other than that, it was generally standard issue. He couldn't wait to try it on, it had been weeks since he was rescued by the Master Chief on Reach, and his previous armor had not fared as well as he had. He had spent the entire journey from Reach recovering from his injuries, and when they arrived back at Earth after Operation: FIRST STRIKE, he had been informed that his armor was beyond repair.

"If your shields go down, find some cover and wait for the meter to read fully charged." Explained the Gunnery Sergeant, currently in the process of testing the Chief's shields. As this was happening a newcomer entered the armory from the elevator.

"That, or he can hide behind me." Joked the newcomer, Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, a tall man with dark skin, who like most UNSC personnel appears younger than his chronological age, due to extensive cryosleep. He was a fellow survivor on the UNSC Gettysburg, and fought with the Master Chief on Halo. "You done with my boys here master guns? I don't see any training wheels."

"Their armor is working fine Johnson." The Sergeant exasperated, "Just remember to take things slow."

"No need to worry Sergeant, I don't plan to be back here for a long time." Said Six as the group made their way over to the elevator.

"So Johnson, when are you gonna tell how you made it home in one piece?" Asked the Sergeant as they entered the elevator.

"Sorry Guns, its classified." Johnson replied.

"Huh? My ass!" Exclaimed the Sergeant, "Well you can forget about those attachments to your A2 scope!" Any further comments were not heard as the elevator continued upwards.

"Well, he's in a particularly fine mood, maybe Lord Hood didn't give him an invitation." Johnson joked as the elevator reached its destination.

As they exited the elevator and approached the rail transport, they got a breathtaking view of Earth. "Earth, haven't seen her in years." Prior to the Spartan-III program, Six had been born and raised on Earth, and it always pleased him to see his home.

"It's good to be back." Said Six. Johnson went on to explain the details of the orbital defence network, but SIx's attention was on the number of UNSC ships arriving. "What's with all the new arrivals?"

"Don't know, they've been arriving all morning." Johnson explained, "Nobody is saying much, but something big is about to happen." As he finished, the doors of the transport open, and the group exited to a group of marines and cameras.

"You told me there wouldn't be any cameras." Said the Chief to Six, not to pleased.

"And I've never been to a public awards ceremony, how was I supposed to know?" Six returned.

"And you were both told to wear something nice!" Laughed Johnson, "Folks need heroes, and you Spartans are the best we've got. So smile would ya? While we've still got something to smile about." Johnson finished as the doors to the bridge opened, and the trio entered.

The bridge was filled with Marines and Navy personnel, all in their dress whites. Lord Hood stood atop an elevated section with several other officers. Lord Terrence Hood was a tall elderly man, and it showed, despite this he radiated authority. The group approached the Fleet Admiral and saluted.

"Gentlemen, we're lucky to have you back." Lord Hood greeted as he returned the groups salute. Before he could say another word an officer behind him whispered something in his ear. "Go ahead Cortana." As he finished, the podium next to them projected an image of a blue woman, Cortana, an AI.

"Another whisper sir near Io, we have probes en route." Cortana explained before commenting, "I never did get to thank you for getting me off Reach, thank you Six."

"I was just following orders, but it's good to see that my teammates deaths were not in vain." Six replied.

Lord hood cut in to get things back on track, "I apologise, but we are going to have to make this quick." The ceremony then began, and Six observed as the commendations were handed out, when suddenly the stations alarms sounded.

"Slip space ruptures have been detected just off our battle cluster sir." Cortana continued to explain, "There are fifteen Covenant capital-ships just outside the kill-zone."

"This is Fleet Admiral Harper, we are engaging the enemy" A voice sounded over the comm-link.

"Negative Admiral, form a defensive perimeter around the cluster." Lord Hood began to give his orders. "Commander Keyes, get to your ship, link up with the fleet."

"Yes sir!" Keyes gave the Admiral a salute before setting off.

Lord Hood then turned to Cortana, "You have the MAC gun Cortana, as soon as they come in range, open up."

"Gladly." Cortana's visage disappeared from sight.

Lord Hood then contemplated, "Somethings not right, the fleet that destroyed Reach was fifty times this size."

"Sir we have Covenant boarding craft approaching, and lots of them!" Shouted an officer from a nearby terminal.

"They're going to try and take the MAC guns offline, given them a straight shot at Earth." Lord Hood then turned to the Spartans. "Spartans, defend this station!"

"Yes sir." Six turned to Johnson, "We'll need weapons."

"Right this way." Johnson then led the Spartans out of the bridge.

They came to a hallway near the location of the first Covenant boarding vessel.

There were numerous weapons on racks on the wall, Six grabbed a BR55 battle rifle and M6C as a sidearm, before following the Marines to a large open room.

"How's it going Malta?" Johnson asked over the comm-link.

"Standby, they're latched!" An operator responded, "Check your targets, watch for the crossfire. They're in standard formation, little bastards up front, a big one in back. Good luck Cairo."

"Field of fire on that bulkhead, when the doors open, let them have it!" Ordered Johnson as he set up a Machine Gun emplacement.

Not too soon after the doors burst open and Grunts began to swarm out but didn't get very far as the volley of rounds coming from the machine gun behind Six dropped them.

A group of Elites charged forward, their shields protected them while they got into cover. Six took aim and started firing rounds with his battle rifle, the focused fire broke one Elites shields quickly and the high velocity rounds embedded themselves in its skull, killing it. Chief and the others focused fire on the others, and soon the room was clear.

"Chief! We need to move to the next boarding craft, well cut through the atrium!" Six said while reloading his weapon.

"Copy, push forward and cut through the atrium." Chief replied. The two spartans then proceeded through the now open doors to find more Elites under fire from nearby Marines. They were able to make short work of them as they were exposed from the flank. They moved up the stairs into the Atrium, it was chaos, SIx manned an machine gun turret and began firing on the Covenant below.

Once the area was secure, they moved onto the nearby hangar, where a Covenant boarding craft had attached itself to the hangar doors, Grunts and Elites began to flood the area below them. The Spartans and nearby marines got to work, using their height advantage to make short work of the Covenant. Six and Chief then dropped down and finished off the stragglers.

"Hey! Check it out, the Malta has already driven off its boarders." Exclaimed one of the marines.

"Malta, what's your status?" Cortana asked.

"I don't believe it, they're retreating! We've won!" Cheered an operator from the Malta, the nearby marines had expressions of relief on their faces. The Covenant could be driven back.

"If they left, it means they achieved their objective." Six stated to the team, everyone's attitude changed from that of relief, to that of horror, as the Malta began to explode in a massive ball of fire.

"This is real bad!" Exclaimed another marine, as soon as he finished the doors behind the group opened, and several Elites poured out and started opening fire, Six and Chief swiftly turned around and started to return fire, while moving to use the nearby Pelican as cover. It only took a few moments for the duo to eliminate the threat.

"Let's move, to the next Hangar!" Six commanded, the group moved through to the next Hangar bay, where the Covenant troops had already set up defences, turrets on the catwalk above, and dozens of troops down below.

"Grenade out!" Yelled Six as he threw a frag grenade into the group of Grunts on the lower level, seconds later and explosion accompanied by screams was heard. Chief took out the turrets with precision and the remaining Elites were soon outnumbered. The area was clear of hostiles.

"Uh oh, hey they're leaving the Athens!" Exclaimed the marine from before. Before anyone could react, it exploded just like the Malta.

"Cortana, Assessment!" Lord Hood asked over the Comm.

"The explosion came from within the Athens, just like the Malta." Cortana explained, "The Covenant must have brought something with them. A bomb." She finished.

"Then they sure as hell brought one here." Lord Hood replied, "Spartans that bomb."

"Copy Admiral." Six responded, the group proceeded through to under the Hangar, cleaving through Covenant forces along the way, before proceeding up the stairs to the Armory.

"Get the hell out of my armoy split- Arrgh god!" The Sergeant screamed in agony as he collapsed to the ground, dead. The Spartans moved up into the armory finishing off the Elites in the room.

They moved through the open doors into the atrium, where they were assailed by heavy plasma fire, using the platforms as cover, they moved up clearing the room of any Covenant presence. They moved forward to were the UNSC In Amber Clad was docked, to find a group of Marines, including Johnson and Miranda Keyes fighting off Covenant attackers.

"Come on you two, this way!" Johnson said.

"I was almost on board when they showed up!" Miranda informed the Spartans.

"Don't worry ma'am, were on it. Six, Chief push forward!" Johnson yelled.

"Consider it done Sergeant." Six said as he moved up, firing down the hallway, using boxes as cover. Chief moved round the right to flank the Covenant forces. Six took down the Elite with a headshot after its Shields broke, with that, the nearby Grunts began to scatter and were easy targets for the Spartans. Afterwards they proceeded to the airlock.

"Six, we'll need to go outside the station to reach the control room." Chief informed Six.

"Copy" Six replied, they proceeded into the airlock, and as it opened to the outside, a pair of Elite Rangers began their attack against the Spartans, in a brief but tense firefight, SIx and Chief managed to break their shields and finish them off, their corpses floating away from the station.

"Sir, boarders have breached the fire control center, they have a bomb." Cortana said over the Comm.

"Can you defuse it?" Lord Hood inquired.

"Yes but I'll need one of the Spartans help to make contact with the detonator." Cortana replied.

"Six, Chief, get to the bomb, double time!" Ordered Lord Hood.

"Affirmative Admiral, we'll get there." Six replied.

"See that you do Six. Cortana, prioritise targets and fire at will." Lord Hood finished. The Spartans entered another airlock that led to a cargo elevator, there were several Marines waiting for them. After not too long, they were attacked by Drones, the Marines did not last long under their fire.

Six and Chief immediately took cover to avoid flying plasma bolts coming towards them, making each shot count against the Drones. When the drones were dealt with, Six went to call the elevator, he noticed that Covenant troops had moved onto it and were not on their way to them.

When the elevator arrived, Six rushed forward to begin its descent, no time to lose, if he didn't rush now they would make it to the bomb in time. The small Covenant force was no match for the Spartans, and soon they arrived at the bottom of the elevator.

They once again exited into space, outside they faced more Covenant, the MAC gun behind thundering as it fired at the opposing fleet. The several Elites outside were quickly taken down by our combined firepower, and they soon made it to the elevator to the fire control center.

The doors opened when they arrived, several Elites were waiting for them, the Chief went left, while Six went Right, both of them pushing towards the bomb. They could hear its rhythmic beating in the background.

As Six dropped the last Elite he yelled, "Chief get to the bomb!"

"Me, inside your head. Now!" Cortana yelled, Chief reached her console and then sprinted to the bomb, deactivating it at the last second.

"How much time was left?" Asked the Chief.

"You don't want to know." Cortana replied.

"Cairo, this is In Amber Clad" Miranda said over the Comm, "The Carrier's shield is down. I'm in position, and ready to begin my assault."

"Negative Commander. Not against a ship that size. Not on your own." Lord Hood replied.

"Sir, permission to leave the station." Master Chief cut in.

"For what purpose Master Chief?" Lord Hood asked.

"To Covenant back their bomb." Chief stated simply.

"Permission granted. Six proceed to Hangar bay 3, you've been reassigned by ONI." Lord Hood said. As the duo closed the elevator doors.

"Copy Admiral, making my way there now." Six replied before turning to the Chief, "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Fortunately for us both, I like crazy." Cortana joked. The elevator reached its destination, and Chief dragged the bomb out of the elevator.

"Good luck Chief, give them hell." Six said before the elevator doors closed, and Six received an incoming communication. "Lieutenant B312 here."

A woman's voice came over the link, "Lieutenant, this is Admiral Parangosky, I'm glad to see you made it off Reach alive, that would have been a waste of one of our most valuable assets." Admiral Parangosky is the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence, or ONI, it wasn't surprising that since NOBLE was no longer active that he would be reassigned to ONI's command. "You are being returned to my command, effective immediately."

"Affirmative, what's the situation ma'am?" Six inquired as the elevator stopped at the Hanger.

"One of the Covenant's capital-ships has made it past the orbital defence grid." Parangosky explained as Six made his way into his designated pelican. "HIGHCOM has determined that Covenant reinforcements will arrive soon, and our weakened defences won't be able to stop them from making planetfall. You are being deployed to Sydney to defend against the inevitable Covenant invasion."

"What about Mombasa?"

"We have limited Spartan assets, and most are deployed at strategic centers around the globe, including Mombasa. When the Covenant arrive they will certainly target Sydney, as the headquarters of the UNSC it is a priority target. Are we clear?"

"Crystal ma'am." Six replied as the pelican exited Cairo station.

"Good luck Spartan, it's good to have you back." Parangosky then terminated the Comm-link, and Six settled in for the thirteen hour journey to Australia.

* * *

_**(EDIT)**_

_**Minor changes; better structuring, fixing grammar/punctuation mistakes.**_

_**(A/N)**_

_**Thanks for checking out my first story, this first chapter is just providing a small explanation as to how Noble Six made it off of Reach, which is hitching a ride with the survivors of Halo: Combat Evolved and CASTLE base on the Gettysburg, as detailed in Halo: First Strike.**_

_**It is also setting up the Sydney arc, while Six did work with the Chief this chapter, I don't want him to be Master Chief's partner/sidekick, though they will probably work together during the events of Halo 3.**_

_**I know this prologue was extremely brief with not much detail put into the combat and movement of the characters, but it is merely here to set up the first story arc, future chapters will have greater details.**_

_**While this isn't a 'Romance' novel, I am planning for a relationship between Six and Olympia Vale, and while they will meet relatively early, it will only develop later in the story. I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it isn't the main focus.**_

_**Also there isn't going to be any major AU content, but Six isn't just going to roll with the story either, he will also participate in non-canon operations.**_

_**This is my first time writing fanfiction, so any and all feedback is appreciated.**_

_**I am on break right now so I will be trying to pump out as many polished chapters as I can before returning to uni and making a schedule.**_

_**Once again I just wanted to thank you checking out this story.**_


	2. Chapter I: Welcome to Sydney

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any material relating to the Halo universe, all copyrights belong to Microsoft and 343 Studios.**_

**Chapter I - Welcome to Sydney**

* * *

**Olympia Vale**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 21, 2552**

Her mother was at work again, on a Saturday.

This wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Olympia's mother worked for the Office of Naval Intelligence, and unsurprisingly that meant a lot of extra hours.

She usually wouldn't mind, but they had made plans for today. Despite living together she barely saw her mom, so any time she got with her was special.

She could only wonder what the emergency was this time, most of her mother's work was classified, part of being with ONI she supposed.

It was a beautiful day as well, Sydney looked beautiful from their apartment. The sky was clear, and the sunlight reflected off the ocean, creating a golden-blue wave of water. It was a great view, one she didn't appreciate enough.

Olympia was laying on her couch reviewing her notes on the Sangheili. Ever since she was eleven she had been interested in alien cultures. Well, maybe interested was the wrong word.

Then her phone rang. She checked the caller ID, her mother was calling. "Afterno-"

"Olympia! Honey, you need to come to the Hive right now!" Her mother's voice was filled with panic.

"Mom? What's happening!" Olympia got off the couch and went to grab her shoes.

"Olympia, you need to run! It's the Cov-" The call cut to static.

"Mom? Mom!" Olympia cried in vain.

The she heard heard it; the sirens, the screaming, and the cruel laughter of the Jiralhanae.

The light in the apartment vanished, and when she looked out the window a massive ship was blocking the sun.

She looked down below to see the Covenant butchering the fleeing civilians all around her complex. Leaving the building would be suicide.

She tried to think like her mother; observe the situation, evaluate the outcomes, then act. But above all, remain calm.

She panicked.

* * *

**Admiral Margaret Parangosky**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 21, 2552**

Two hours.

It had been two hours since the Covenant reinforcements had arrived.

And in two hours the Covenant had most of Earth on its knees.

Of course Sydney was one of many cities that was targeted by the Covenant. Only one location had a higher concentration of troops, the city of Voi in Africa.

HIGHCOM facility Bravo-6, or the Hive, would be safe for the time being. The Hive's defences would be able to repel any ground based Covenant attack, and as long as its MAC guns stayed operational the threat of glassing would be negligible.

The Hive had taken next to no damage in the first wave. All UNSC personnel were accounted for, as well as the massive influx of refugees.

But the rest of Sydney had been hit hard, suffering countless civilian casualties. Those who didn't make it to the Hive in time were either slaughtered in the streets, or were hiding, waiting for rescue to find them.

Admiral Parangosky was looking over a tablet while seated in her office, occasionally taking a sip of tea. The room was quite large and sparsely decorated, and it had no windows as it was underground.

She had been informed that the Covenant had set up anti-air guns around the perimeter of the city. While they did not need any supplies, they did need to evacuate civilians.

She looked up from her monitor, "Lysethia, connect me to B312."

"Of course Admiral." Replied the disembodied sing-song voice.

Parangosky's monitor shifted to a view showing the Pelican Six was travelling on, little less than an hour away from Sydney.

"This is Spartan-B312 here, what's the situation?" Six greeted over the intercom.

"Lieutenant, the situation has changed." The Admiral paused before continuing, "Covenant reinforcements arrived earlier than expected, and ground forces occupy much of the city. They have also set up AA-Guns around the perimeter of the city. You will need to destroy one to open a route to the Hive."

"I'll get it done, where's the target?"

"Near the coast of the city, Coogee to be exact. It has the lowest density of Covenant troops in the city, and it isn't fully functional yet, which will allow you to get close." She paused to drink her tea. "Once you have destroyed the emplacement, you will need to make your way to the Hive."

"Ma'am, what about survivors?"

"Survivors are a secondary objective Lieutenant, prioritize the Anti Air Gun. After it is destroyed you may escort any survivors you find to the hive."

"Is Pelican extraction not an option?" Six inquired.

"General Dellert has assigned all air assets to evacuate civilians in the Hive once an opening has been made. Unfortunately you will need to make your own way to us."

"I'll find a way, and I'll bring as many survivors as I can." Six stated.

"Lieutenant, your eagerness to save civilians is admirable, but you are far more valuable than survivors. Your expertise will be invaluable in liberating the city. Do not let them jeopardize the mission." Parangosky warned.

"Affirmative Admiral, I'll contact you when the gun is down. Six out." Six then ended the communication.

Parangosky found it strange that he referred to himself as Six, but quickly returned to work.

There were far more important things to focus on, such as the ongoing battle outside the walls of the base.

* * *

**Lieutenant Jeremy-B312**

**Malabar National Park, Australia, Earth**

**October 21, 2552**

"This is your stop, Malabar National Park." Yelled the pilot from the cockpit.

"Thanks for the ride!" Six yelled as he disembarked.

"Good hunting Lieutenant." The Pelican immediately departed to avoid being targeted by the Covenants anti-air emplacements, leaving Six alone overlooking the Sydney skyline. The once beautiful view had been tarnished by war. Massive pillars of smoke rose from the remnants of skyscrapers, streams of bullets and plasma dominated the sky.

The sound was reminded him of Reach, the simultaneous discharge of hundreds of human and Covenant weaponry, and the occasional explosion. It lacked only one thing.

Screams.

New Alexandria evacuation efforts continue even days into the invasion. The Covenant had been here for a matter of hours and the remaining civilians were either hiding, or dead.

Six had to move fast if he was going to get to the Hive before sundown. The closest AA gun was on top of a multistory apartment complex north of his position. The Admiral had informed him that the concentration of Covenant forces in this area was relatively low. But that didn't mean that he shouldn't expect a peaceful journey.

Six figured the longer he took, the longer the Covenant had to dig in. He wasn't going to give them the chance. He set off at a brisk pace while keeping his battle rifle shouldered, ready for anything.

Six made his way through the park. Despite the conflict within the city, it was undamaged. The trees and grass remained unburnt, the Covenant likely didn't see a national park as a priority target.

Six made it to the edge of the park and entered the city proper. Unlike the park the city was littered with bodies. the Corpses were almost exclusively human, with the occasional grunt or jackal.

Six bent down to investigate the mangled body of a woman, her body impaled by several wicked spikes. Only one creature in the Covenant used such brutal weaponry.

Brutes.

The Covenant often used them as Shock Troops for invasions of planets. They were brutal and destructive, perfect for inflicting terror on the populace.

Six found the lack of contacts concerning, the Covenant weren't protecting their rear flank at all. The Brutes were likely too busy relishing in the slaughter to even consider the possibility of a counter attack from the rear.

The ground rumbled with each fo the nearby AA-Guns rhythmic pulses, growing louder as Six moved towards it.

He spotted the his target at the top of a building, and while the structure was not especially tall, it was certainly a few stories higher than its surroundings.

Covenant forces were stationed at the entrance to the building, a small combat group. Two Brutes and six Grunts, all bunched together.

Perfect.

Six pulled the pin on one of his grenades and lobbed it right into the center of the group. The Brutes managed to dive out of the way, but the Grunts weren't so lucky, their bodies going flying in all directions.

Six chuckled as he heard their high pitched screams, before turning his attention to the Brutes. His shields flared as he dove into the cover behind a destroyed police car.

When the hail of spikes ceased, Six popped out over the top of the car and unleashed a series of bursts at the first of the Brutes. The battle rifle made short work of its armor as the blue plating falling to the ground in pieces. The Brute tried to get to cover, but the constant fire soon felled the beast.

The second brute had reloaded and began firing at Six, but the projectiles failed to disable his shields. Six reacquired his target and shouldered his rifle before firing. The Brute roared as the rounds impacted against its hide, discarding its weapon and charged at Six, moving at a frighteningly fast speed.

Six remained unfazed and merely kept pulling the trigger. As each round embedded itself into the Brute, its charge slowed down, until it eventually collapsed at Six's feet, letting out one last growl before it died.

Six checked his ammunition and the surrounding area before observing his target. The building was ten stories tall, with a large Covenant emplacement on its roof.

What concerned him was the lack of security. Generally the Covenant reinforced these positions with a large amount of troops, almost always with an Elite to command them. It didn't sit right with him, but he had a job to do.

Six proceeded into the entrance of the building into its small reception area. It contained mailboxes, counters and an ATM. A rather narrow staircase was the only visible path to the top of the building. It was dark, the lights were out, the power to this district was most likely out.

Six activated his flashlight and made his way up the stairs. He made sure to check each room on his way up for survivors, and so no hostiles would sneak up behind him. However the rooms were either abandoned, or home to a corpse.

He reached the top of the stairs, the AA-Gun's constant firing filling his ears, the only thing separating him from it was a thin metal door.

Slowly opening the door Six peeked through the gap to see what he was up against. Five Grunts and Three Brutes, one of which was carrying a large hammer and wore ornate armor.

"A Chieftain, outstanding." Six muttered sarcastically.

There was little to no cover on the roof. If he did not eliminate the threats fast, he would be a sitting duck.

The Brutes communicated in their unnaturally deep tones. Four of the Grunts were peering off the edge of the building trying to find Six, while the closest to him had its back turned. Six stowed his battle rifle and unholstered his M6C and combat knife, moving towards the closest Grunt. When he was close enough he placed the knife in front of the aliens throat, and sliced it's neck.

He raised his pistol towards two Grunts to his left, firing two rounds in quick succession. Each one finding their mark in the Grunts skulls. He holstered his sidearm and knife and re-equipped his rifle, the Brutes large forms separating him from the remaining Grunts.

He braced the weapon, targeting the closest Brute and opened fire. With no cover the Brute fell after a few bursts from his rifle, the Chieftain let loose bestial roar and ran towards Six.

Six shifted his aim towards the charging Chieftain and began firing, but the rounds had little to no effect against its shields. As the Chieftain got within melee range it swung its massive hammer down towards him. Six rolled out of the way but was launched towards the edge of the roof by the hammer's gravity blast.

His shields broke as the other Brute and Grunts fire upon him. Six raised his battle rifle and released some burst towards the Grunts, dropping them both. Ten targeted the other Brute while the Chieftain walked menacingly towards him.

The Brute quickly fell to his sustained fire.

All that was left was the Chieftain. Six quickly snapped his battle rifle onto him and fired the last rounds in his magazine, enough to break its shields. The Chieftain began to sprint at full speed again.

With no time to reload Six dropped his weapon and shoulder charged into the Chieftain, catching it off guard. Before the Chieftain could react, Six grabbed his pistol and started unloading into the Chieftains jaw, its rounds having no problems with the creatures thick hide.

Six felt the creatures body slump over, and moved out of the way before it collapsed on him.

"Well that explains the lack of defences." Six breathed. Brutes were formidable warriors, but they weren't soldiers. Most of them didn't have the mindset for tactics, this Chieftain must have ordered his troops to move further into the city. The possibility that a Human might attack from behind being impossible to grasp.

Six walked over to retrieve his battle rifle, and after reloading he moved towards the AA gun. It was a similar model to those used on Reach, an explosive in the core would shut it down.

He began to inspect the bodies of his recently killed foes, it didn't take very long to find a plasma grenade on one of the Grunts. Six primed the grenade and placed it inside the AA gun before moving back to the stairwell.

Six stopped just before reaching the stairs, he took in the view of the city. The sun was setting, there was no way he was making it to the Hive tonight.

Regardless he didn't plan to arrive alone.

* * *

**Captain Barbara Vale**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 21, 2552**

Unlike the rest of the city, the Hive was quiet, at least in Barbara's section of it. After the first few assaults the Covenant figured out their couldn't take the base in an all out assault, not without more numbers. It seemed their plan was to starve out the survivors inside.

However they just received word that one of the Covenants AA-Guns was destroyed. They weren't expecting a counter-attack so soon, so it had been largely undefended.

General Dellert had deployed all available transports and escorts to evacuate the civilians within the Hive for their protection, and to lower the consumption of supplies.

In the ONI offices, Barbara was working on a plan to intercept Covenant communications and determine their next moves. Unfortunately the little damage the Hive sustained during the Covenants assault included the facilities listening post.

This would have been a minor inconvenience, but of the two other potential listening posts in the city. Only one had an AI capable of translating the Covenant language, and not only was it in the occupied zone, it was near the largest Covenant force in the city.

The other option was in the north of the city. It was over the harbour and under occupation from a small Covenant force, but that didn't matter since that facility had no way of translating the language.

None of this mattered to Barbara though, her mind was occupied by thoughts of her 16 year old daughter Olympia. She had attempted to contact her when the Covenant arrived, only for their call to be cut off.

There could only be two reasons why Olympia wasn't here yet, she had either hid from the fighting, or…

No, she didn't even want to think of that. Her little girl would be alright, she was her daughter after all. But despite all the confidence she had in her daughter, it couldn't stop her from worrying.

* * *

**Olympia Vale**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 21, 2552**

She was terrified.

The apartment was dark. That in itself wasn't scary to Olympia but with the constant sounds of battle and the odd inhumane roar, the situation was incredibly tense.

Olympia had blocked the door with as much furniture as she could, but it wouldn't stop a larger member of the Covenant.

She had been desperately trying to sleep. She had gotten close a few times, but was quickly awoken by carnage outside.

Then she heard it, someone was trying to open her door.

She moved out into the entrance to see if they would get through.

"NO! NO! PLEASE DO-" A screaming voice was cut off as the top half of the door was eviscerated by spikes, flying past Olympia and shattering the window behind her.

A massive figure growled and stared right at her, as it proceeded to claw its way through her makeshift barricade.

While Olympia was mature for her age, she was only 16, and she did was any child her age would do.

She screamed.

Her screams flooded out of the now broken window into the city.

She sprinted back into her bedroom. Looking for something, anything that could help her.

She was hyperventilating, her breaths not quite giving her the oxygen she needed.

Tears began to pour out of her eyes.

In possibly the longest minute of her life she could hear the Alien breaking the barricade.

Its heavy footsteps shaking the apartment floor. Until it stood in the doorway to her bedroom.

It laughed.

The small creature in front of it was a joke, not even a challenge.

It continued to chuckle as it raised its weapon towards her chest.

Olympia wasn't ready to die, but the beast did not care about that.

And then a single gunshot filled her ears.

* * *

**EDIT: Fixes for grammar, structure and spelling. Better phrasing/words for some sections.**

**(A/N)**

_**So this is the first chapter in the Battle for Earth arc, where Six will be operating mainly in Sydney up until Nov 15 (When Johnson and Keyes return to Earth).**_

_**I had originally planned for Six to participate in the events of Halo 3: ODST, but I wasn't too keen on following the events of the games, at least not yet. I wanted the first story arc to set Six apart from the Master Chief and the other characters.**_

_**A big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this story.**_

_**As always, all feedback is appreciated.**_


	3. Chapter II: A Timely Rescue

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any material relating to the Halo universe, all copyrights belong to Microsoft and 343 Studios.**_

**Chapter II - A Timely Rescue**

* * *

**Lieutenant Jeremy-B312**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 21, 2552**

Six wiped his bloodied knife on the fur of a recently deceased Brute before sheathing it. The amount of Covenant he encountered was increasing as he made his way towards the Hive.

Six's plan was to follow the coast before heading west towards his destination, picking up any survivors along the way.

He had been travelling for several hours, but he had not found any survivors. It was beginning to seem like he wouldn't find any at all.

He did see several Pelicans fly overhead though, escaping the city through the section of the Covenant defenses he had destroyed.

Then the commando saw something that intrigued him, a lone Brute running into a nearby apartment building. Six raised his rifle but before his could even aim the invader it had already disappeared into the building. It was possible that it was chasing down survivors.

After he had destroyed the AA gun making it to the Hive with as many survivors as possible had become the primary objective of the mission.

Civilian casualties were unacceptable.

Six sprinted towards the building, it was roughly 30 stories tall, and he could not see any signs of life through the windows. As he reached the open entrance he could clearly hear the thundering steps of his prey.

The entrance was clean, no corpses or damage. It was obviously high quality, marble flooring and expensive furniture. A stark contrast to the environments he usually operates in.

The elevators were offline, so he made his way up the stars, his weapon at the ready.

He stopped in front of the door to the room on the first floor, he tried the handle but it was locked, Six contemplated forcing his way in.

"NO! NO! PLEASE DO-" The cries for help silenced with several by the familiar echo of a Mauler. A scream echoed down the stairway. If anyone was behind this door they would have to wait.

He picked up the pace passing past each floor at lightning speed, eventually reaching the top floor. On the floor lay the corpse of a man, probably in his early twenties, his body mutilated by metal spikes.

The door, or what was left of it, was wide open. Six caught a glimpse of a large figure entering a room at the back of the apartment.

Six could hear the terrified wails of a woman, and the beast chuckling in sadistic glee as it approached the girl.

He rounded the corner into the room in time to see the Brute raise a weapon towards its victim.

It was slow and cumbersome, relishing in the kill.

Six wouldn't make that mistake. He raised his weapon and promptly fired directly into the back of the creatures head, shaking the room as its lifeless body crashed to the floor.

Behind the corpse Six saw the Brutes target. A girl with deep red hair, she couldn't have been more than 17 years old.

As he moved forward to check if she was all right, she continued to cry.

"No! Get away!" She repeated the phrase over and over.

Six tried for several minutes to get her to calm down, all attempts were either rebuffed or unsuccessful. Social interactions were not his strong suit.

"Ah hell." he muttered as he reached up towards his helmet.

* * *

**Olympia Vale**

**First Encounter**

Many thoughts passed threw her head in these final moments, fear, anger, sadness but none as powerful as the pure horror that was coursing through her veins, she was going to die here. Thankfully, fate had other plans.

A single gunshot and the room tremored. fearturned to surprise, then to elation. She was free, she was alive.

But what was that light, that haunting red light in the middle of the room.

Terror pure terror.

It was moving, closer and closer. Then **it **appeared, from the unyielding shroud of darkness that smothered the room appeared a horror that even death itself fears.

A hulking warrior approached her, slowly and methodically. It's crimson armor stained with the blood of it's recently felled foe. She could see her reflection in its golden visor, taunting Olympia with her own fear.

Olympia froze as it placed an armored hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her.

Consumed by her fear, she could only perceive her own heartbeat, it seemed like an eternity passed before the behemoth reached for its helmet.

What followed was a small click as the helmet was removed.

Human.

The last thing she expected the giant to be was one of her own kind.

His face was unnaturally pale, with regulation brown hair and the beginning of a stubble. His hazel eyes carrying much more experience belied his young age.

His mouth was moving, and Olympia slowly started to hear the words.

"See? I'm human." She nodded silently. "Can you tell me your name?"

"O-Olympia." She stuttered.

"Well Olympia, are you hurt? Can you stand?" He reached out his hand.

"No, I'm fine." Olympia grasped his hand and was pulled to her feet. She began to wipe away her tears as the armored warrior donned his helmet.

"Is there anyone else in this building?" He started towards the door after she shook her head, "Let's get moving, we'll want to be as far away as we can before dawn."

The soldier exited the apartment with Olympia in tow, carefully maneuvering their way down the staircase of the complex.

"Where are we going?" inquired Olympia nervously.

"Bravo-6" The spartan stated simply as he tried opening a door to another apartment before checking his motion sensor for movement, moving on once he was satisfied there was no one inside.

As they reached the entrance of the building, where he suddenly halted his stride before turning to Olympia.

"All right, we are about to enter hostile territory, stay behind me." In his hand he held a pistol, "Take this, have you used one before?"

"N-no." She grasped the weapon, it weighed more than she expected for a small weapon.

"Switch off the safety, then point that end towards what you want to kill and pull the trigger." He explained while pointed at the various areas of the sidearm, before pausing, "Hopefully it won't come to that." Six then began to walk out the door.

"Wait!" Olympia exclaimed louder than she intended, "What's your name?"

"Six will do." The man now identified as Six stated, "Let's move, we can't stay here forever."

* * *

**Lieutenant Jeremy-B312**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 22, 2552**

It had been a several hours since Six had rescued Olympia. The event reminded Six of Jorge, the big man had a way with people.

He had tried to emulated Visegrad Relay, where Jorge had calmed down one of the survivors there. Though, showing his face to a stranger was still uncomfortable to him.

Six and Olympia had made significant progress in closing the distance to the Hive, while successfully avoiding additional encounters with Covenant forces.

He estimated that they would reach their destination before sunrise, but they weren't out of the woods yet. With every step the sounds of combat grew louder. Six could see the smokestacks in the distance, a few blocks away at most.

"Wait, we're going towards them?" Olympia asked, clearly alarmed and frightened at the prospect.

"It's the most direct route, and there may be additional survivors-" Six turned to look at her, even with his inexperience, it wasn't hard to tell when someone was scared to death. "Relax. Stick behind me and you'll be fine."

Civilian casualties were unacceptable.

She nodded nervously and continued to follow him. They set off, making haste towards the sounds of war.

After several minutes the duo passed into an open road and finally laid their eyes upon the firefight. A group of three marines were making a final stand by a crashed pelican against Covenant infantry.

"Olympia, as soon as we get there, you get inside the pelican, you'll be safe in there." Six's visor staring directly into her soul. "Understand?"

"Y-ye-." Olympia gulped, fighting against the nervous pit in her stomach, "Yes." She said firmly after recomposing herself.

"Outstanding, let's get to work." Six broke out into a sprint, making sure to keep himself in front of Olympia.

While the Brutes were still focused on the marines, a few stray spikes still found their way towards Six, shattering upon impact with his energy shield. He took cover behind the wreckage as Olympia crawled inside the pelican.

While it was still dark, the nearby fires illuminated the area enough to allow vision of the enemy. Six counted 5 Brutes and several dead Grunts.

"No way! A Spartan?" One of the nearby Marines exclaimed.

"Lieutenant B312 reporting, whos in charge here?"

"I am sir!" A marine nearby the entrance to pelican yelled over the gunfire. "Corporal Decker, these are Privates James and Hunter!" He pointed out a male and female marine respectively, "Your timing is impeccable Spartan!"

Six leaned out of the cover of the Pelican before firing several rounds towards a Brute with shattered armor, killing it as his magazine emptied.

"Corporal, sitrep." Six stated almost mechanically as he reloaded his battle rifle.

Corporal Decker peered over the wreckage only to duck back down to avoid having his head shot off. "The crash damaged our comms gear sir, these Covies attacked us before we could retreat back to HQ!" The Corporal made his way over to six, "We've got civilians inside the Pelican, but we're the only combatants left standing."

"Understood." Six once again moved out of cover and began firing against the closest Brute.

The marines responded and targeted the same Brute as six, before too long the group managed to drop one.

"Take that you Covie basta-!" James was cut off as several spikes impaled themselves in his chest.

"Shit James!" Yelled Private Hunter as she dashed towards the fallen marine.

"What are you doing! Get back in cover!" Ordered Decker.

Hunter knelt down next to the fallen marine. Before she could inspect his wounds she was targeted by the Brutes, her body fell to the ground littered with spikes.

The Corporal stood out of cover and began firing upon the aliens.

"Arrghh you scum!" Decker managed to kill one of the Brutes before something impacted in his chest, a plasma grenade. He was as good as dead.

Six pushed Decker away from the Pelican. If he didn't get Decker far enough away, both he and the civilians would be within its blast radius.

"No. No no no!" Decker stammered, sensing what SIx was about to do.

Six didn't say a word as kicked Decker square in the chest, sending him flying, as he landed the grenade detonated sending his charred corpse flying even further.

The Brutes roared in satisfaction and began to charge at Six, believing their superior numbers gave them the advantage.

In reality, it only made them easy pickings for Six as they left cover. He managed to drop two of them before they reached the Pelican, but one remained.

Six managed to break its shields just before it reached him, but he ran out of ammo in his magazine. The Brute was about to swing its Spiker towards him, intended to cleave him with it's blades.

Bang!

The Brute fell to the ground, Six span around to see Olympia standing at the entrance of the Pelican, a small stream of gunsmoke leaving the barrel of the weapon in her hands.

"Nice shot." Remarked Six as he reloaded his battle rifle. "Thanks for the assist."

"Y-your welcome." Olympia was surprised at the compliment, her hands still shaking from firing the powerful magnum.

"Get everyone out of the Pelican, we have to move before more Brutes arrive, the Hive is only a few clicks west of here." SIx moved towards the corpses of the fallen marines to retrieve their dog tags.

The survivors began to filter out of the Pelican, their clothes ripped and ragged, bruises and cuts covered their bodies, it had not been a smooth landing.

"Let's go, if we move now, we should arrive by sunrise."

Six and the Survivors set off towards safety.

* * *

**Captain Barbara Vale**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 22, 2552**

The Hive was much quieter since the evacuation started, all non-essential personnel were shipped away on Pelicans to conserve resources

Barbara had almost lost all hope of seeing her daughter again, almost everything outside of this facility was Covenant territory. No one expected any more survivors to arrive.

Her meetings with Parangosky had been strenuous, over the last 30 hours she had been unable to form a plan to intercept Covenant transmissions. While the Admiral was disappointed, Barbara got the feeling that Parangosky had a hidden ace in the whole.

Barbara sighed and rubbed her temples, she was used to long hours, but this was entirely different. The constant stress and fear manifesting themselves as dark rings under her eyes.

"Captain Vale." Barbara spun around towards the visitor.

Standing in the doorway was Admiral Parangosky, despite her advanced age she still radiated an aura of danger and authority.

"Admiral." Barbara saluted the Parangosky, "I apologise I haven't made any progress, but i'm sure with-"

"It's fine Barbara." The Admiral held up a hand to silence her.

She took a few seconds to inspect the Captains condition. Her hair was messy and uncombed, dark rings were present beneath her eyes and her uniform had traces of coffee stains.

"You need a break." Parangosky put on a smile, "Come, walk with me."

"Admiral, I appreciate the offer, but this really requires my full attention."

"Nonsense, I insist." Parangosky seemed to be in a rather jovial mood. "I promise that you will feel much better by the time we get back.

"Of course Admiral." Barbara knew better than to disobey the Admiral.

With that the duo started towards the elevator at a leisurely pace. Parangosky set the elevator for the ground floor.

"I have some good news Barbara, I understand that you have made little progress with Stolen Dialect." Parangosky asked after the doors shut, and the elevator began to descend.

"Yes Admiral." Barbara muttered sheepishly. "If you would let me relocate one of our AIs to the proposed site, I'm sure that we could execute Stolen Dialect."

"We can't afford to lose any of our AIs, without them the Hive's defenses would be sub-optimal." Paragonsky then addressed the empty elevator. "Lysethia, what is the status of Operative Beta-312?"

"B312 is en route towards HQ, he will arrive in an estimated 10 minutes." The feminine AI informed them through the elevators speakers.

"Excellent, B312 has procured an asset that will assist in the completion of Stolen Dialect." Paragonsky revealed.

Barbara was intrigued by her words, what asset could assist with the operation, perhaps it was an AI that could be installed at the listening post, or maybe replacement parts for the Hive's damaged array.

"The Lieutenant has also managed to recover the survivors of Charlie-022." Lysethia piped up. "Will that be all Admiral?"

"Yes Lysethia."

The doors reopened and the two passed through the lobby of the building. As they exited into the courtyard of the Hive Barbara got a good look at the skyline.

It had calmed considerably since the Covenant arrived, most skirmishes had ceased and the UNSC was no longer contesting the air outside of the Hive's airspace. The result was a clear early morning sky, with the sun barely peeking over the horizon.

Parangosky let out a contented sigh at the peace and quiet, taking a seat one of the benches, "Sometimes all you need is a little time with yourself, then you can get back to work, more motivated than before."

They sat in silence for some time, soaking in the atmosphere. Barbara could tell that the Admiral was waiting for something, probably for the Spartan to arrive.

The gates to the compound began to open.

"Ah, here he is now." Parangosky said.

A group of six people entered through the gate, she recognised most of them as refugees who had been evacuated several hours ago.

Then two more followed closely behind, the first of them to draw Barbara's attention was the Spartan. He must have been at least 7 feet tall. It really shouldn't have shocked her, she had heard all about Spartans during her time with ONI, but she had never seen one in person before.

It only took her a second to recognise the girl walking beside the Spartan.

Olmypia.

Her daughter was safe.

"Olympia!" Barbara broke into tears as she ran towards them.

Before Olympia could even react her mother had closed the distance and wrapped herself around her. She began to cry with her mother.

The whole situation was uncomfortable for Six, he had seen civilians in this state before, usually he had an objective to achieve that distracted him from it. He continued to stride forward towards the Admiral.

"Admiral." Six gave Parangosky a crisp salute which she returned in kind. "B312 reporting for duty, whats my next assignment ma'am?"

"I'm afraid you are going to have to wait Lieutenant." Parangosky explained after a moment of silence, "We have next to no information on the Covenant's battle plans. You are the only Spartan deployed in Australia, we can't let you loose without knowing the enemies movement."

"Lieutenant!" Six turned to see Barbara and Olympia walking towards him. "I'm Captain Barbara Vale, thank you for saving my Olympia. I don't know what I would have done if she didn't make it…"

Six was unsure as to how to react to this woman, most of his time as an operative was spent doing wet work, a rather thankless job. Thankfully, Parangosky seemed to sense his discomfort and chimed in.

"Captain, spend some time with your daughter." Her expression hardened to a more serious expression, "But come see me in a few hours, we have much to discuss."

"Thank you Admiral." Barbara walked back into the ONI building with her daughter.

Six watched as they got further away, he had a feeling that he had never felt before, a sort of relief that he had managed to save a life, and not just because it was the mission directive.

"Lieutenant, rest up, you'll be seeing combat sooner rather than later." The Admiral confirmed before turning on the spot and walking away.

* * *

**Admiral Margaret Parangosky**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 22, 2552**

It was all coming together.

ONI's most lethal operative had made it to HQ, and was ready to participate in battle of Sydney.

If everything went according to plan, it would result in being able to decipher the Covenants communications, as well as creating a forward operating base for Lieutenant B312 to orchestrate the liberation of northern Sydney.

The return of Olympia Vale will restore Barbara Vale's productivity, but it also had the potential to solve one of the most obstacles to Stolen Dialect.

The listening post across the harbour had no way of translating Sangheili, however, young Olympia knew the language better than most xeno-anthropologists. She could travel with the Lieutenant to the north listening post and translate the intercepted communications.

However there were several things standing in the way of this plan. Olympia was not a part of the UNSC, and because she was 16, she could not be drafted even with emergency protocols in place. She would have to participate voluntarily, a process that could take several days.

There were other ways of forcing Olympia to go, but doing so would lower the morale of not only Barbara, but the rest of subordinates as well. They could not afford anyone working at a subpar level.

There was no other option, without Olympia Stolen Dialect would never be successful. They would be fighting a war without any intelligence to support their plans. And pushing the issue would cause a schism between Parangosky and her personnel.

Someone knocked on the door to Parangosky's office, it could only be Barbara.

"Come in Captain." Parangosky ordered.

Barbara saluted after walking through the door, and proceeded to take a seat opposite of Parangosky. She was looking much healthier than a few hours prior, clearly a lot of stress had been relieved after seeing Olympia.

"Thank you for letting me have some time with my daughter Admiral, it's put me at rest." Barbara took a breath before continuing. "But I'm ready to get back to the task at hand."

"That's good, now you said earlier that the northern listening post had no way of translating the Covenant messages, correct?" Parangosky had a warm smile resting on her face.

"Yes Admiral."

"Well we may have just found a solution." Parangosky paused for a moment, "Your daughter is quite proficient in languages, especially Sangheili is she not?"

Barbara immediately knew what the Admiral was suggesting.

"No! Absolutely not!" The Captain almost yelled, "I just got her back! You can't just send her out into that warzone!"

The smile on Parangosky's face dropped immediately.

"Captain Vale calm yourself at once!" Parangosky's voice was calm, yet it brokered no challenge to her authority. "Your daughter can change the tide against the Covenant, potentially saving the lives of everybody in Sydney."

Barbara shrunk into her chair tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"I cannot force her to do anything however." The Admiral lowered her voice, "It is up to you to convince her to do so, that is an order."

"She's just a girl Admiral." Barbara said quietly.

"She will be well protected, an entire Platoon of Marines will be assigned to the mission." Parangosky allowed the smile to return once more. "And she is much more mature than most people her age, if your description is anything to go by. I also heard from the Lieutenant that she killed a Brute on their journey here."

Barbara was surprised to hear that, she didn't want to talk about Olympia's experience in the city yet, neither of them were ready yet, or at least Barbara wasn't.

She knew that if she didn't convince Olympia to go, Parangosky would devise some sort of plan to get her to the north anyway.

"Please just give me a few days, please, I need time to break the news to her."

"You'll have enough time." Parangosky gestured for Barbara to leave, but before she reached the door she spoke once again. "Thank you for this Barbara, I promise that she'll be returned to you safely."

* * *

**EDIT: Grammar fixed, improved sentence structure**

**(A/N)**

_**I apologise for the long break between chapters, this chapter took a lot longer than expected to release.**_

_**The next chapter will not take nearly as long as I had to cut some unfinished content to release this chapter.**_

_**As always all feedback is appreciated and thanks for reading!**_


	4. Chapter III: The Hive

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any material relating to the Halo universe, all copyrights belong to Microsoft and 343 Studios.**_

**Chapter III - The Hive**

* * *

**Olympia Vale**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 22, 2552**

Olympia scrambled backwards, trying to put as much distance between herself and the monster as possible, but no matter how fast she fled, the Brute cruel laughter growing louder with each of its thundering steps.

She turned to face the beast just in time to see it raise its bladed weapon, and to see it begin its descent towards her.

It took an eternity for the weapon to reach Olympia, and just before it connected…

She woke up in a cold sweat, her breathing fast and shallow. Olympia took a second to gather her bearings, she was still in her mother's office in the ONI building of the Hive. The room was a mess, it's desk was littered with loose paper and coffee stains, and a dull light illuminated the small space. Olympia herself was lying on a small cot in the side of the room.

Her mother mentioned that she would get a proper bed by the end of the day, though after her hellish experience moments before, she wasn't sure she could get to sleep. No matter how comfortable the bed was.

Olympia just didn't feel safe, even within the confines of the Hive. She checked the time, around 6PM, her mother had not returned from her meeting with the Admiral. Something about the Officer rubbed Olympia the wrong way, despite her elderly appearance there was still an opportunistic glimmer in her eye once she laid eyes on Olympia.

Olympia decided to stretch her legs to find her mother, and maybe get some food.

Her stomach grumbled.

Definitely get some food, it had been over a day since she last ate.

She made her way towards the door after slipping on her shoes, exiting out into the hallway.

Olympia began to follow the corridor down, checking each open office for her mother, but to no avail. Most of the rooms were in a similar condition to her mothers, their occupants frantically working on one operation or another. Well, those that had occupants.

She was about to give up and return to her mother's office when she caught movement in the corner of her eye. Six, the Spartan who had saved her was turning a corner ahead of her, a feeling of security washed over her. Olympia began to walk after him, following the feeling of safety, she never did get to thank him for saving her.

She followed him for several minutes, never quite finding the courage to close the gap or get his attention.

"Something catch your eye miss Vale?" An elderly voice called, stopping Olympia in her tracks.

"No!" Olympia almost jumped when she saw Admiral Parangosky standing behind her with an amused smile on her face. She quickly regained her manners, "Sorry ma'am."

"It's quite alright." Parangosky stared past Olympia towards Six, a glint in her eye. "You must be looking for your mother, yes?"

"She said she was going to come back to her office a few hours ago."

"That is my fault, I'm afraid." Paragosky chuckled, "I'm sure you understand that with everything going on your mother's expertise are needed now more than ever." She paused as Six disappeared from her view, moving into one of Section 3's many offices. "Come with me child, I'll take you to her."

Olympia nodded gratefully as they set off down the hallway in the opposite direction.

An uncomfortable silence reigned over them as they walked, this lasted for several minutes until Parangosky spoke up.

"It's good to have you here miss Vale." Parangosky wore a grandmotherly smile on her face, "Your mother was worried sick about you until you arrived earlier today."

"I'm sure she was." Olympia replied

"Now, I've been meaning to talk with you." Parangosky's tone shifted to a more serious tone. "It is important that you answer my questions to the best of your ability, do you understand?"

Olympia gave a small, but affirming nod.

"Good! Now you were trapped in your apartment when the Covenant arrived correct?"

"Yes ma'am, over near Bondi." Olympia stated.

"When did you leave the building?" Parangosky inquired further.

"Around midnight right after Six found me."

"How did the Lieutenant find you?"

Olympia's heart rate began to rise as she remembered the Brute, "An alien was about to…" She stuttered out.

"About to what?" Parangosky waited a few seconds, before continuing "I see, what about when you were travelling with him, what did you see?"

Olympia was grateful for the change of subject, "We avoided the Covenant for the entire night, but he mentioned that the closer we got to here, that the amount of the Covenant was increasing."

"The Lieutenant mentioned that you killed a Jiralhanae after you found a crashed Pelican."

"I don't know if I killed it." Olympia was uncomfortable with all the questions. "I panicked after seeing Six fighting it, and used the Pistol he gave me."

Parangosky hummed in response, "Do you still have this Pistol?"

"Back in my mother's office." Olympia said, unsure if she had done something wrong.

"I would keep it with you from now on, it's best if you can defend yourself if the situation calls for it." Parangosky stopped just outside a closed door. "One last question, do you feel safe here?"

"Yes ma'am." To an untrained individual, Olympia spoke the truth. But to a seasoned manipulator like Parangosky, the signs were clear, she didn't feel safe at the Hive. Not one bit.

Parangosky knocked on the door and a few moments later Barbara opened it, "Admiral." Barbara gave a curt salute to Parangosky before turning to Olympia, "Sorry I was late honey, give me five minutes and we'll get some dinner okay?"

Olympia nodded in response, Barbara could see the discomfort in her daughters eyes, and when she looked towards the Admiral, she saw only a genuine smile, and a calculating gaze.

"Your daughter is fine Captain. A little shaken, but that's to be expected." Parangosky began to turn to leave, "I believe I have found a way to protect her in a way that Olympia will agree with. Don't worry you will still have your time with her."

* * *

**Captain Barbara Vale**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 23, 2552**

Barbara was in a much better state than the day before, spending time with her daughter and getting some sleep did wonders for her appearance and her state of mind. Her uniform was clean, and the dark rings under her eyes were gone.

She was much more focused on her work than before, but there was the lingering pit in her stomach. The thought of her daughter going back out into the city brought her no end of nervousness, even with the Admirals guarantee of safety.

Barbara continued to walk towards Parangosky's office. She had been called there by the Admiral, there was something 'she had to see' according to Lysethia. She reached the familiar office in a matter of minutes.

"You wanted to see me Admiral?" She asked as she entered the room.

"Yes Captain, it's good you came quickly." Parangosky gestured to the seat on Barbara's side of the desk. "Take a seat, I think you will find this quite interesting."

Barbara did as she was asked as Parangosky turned one of her monitors towards Barbara. "Lysethia, please show us the location of Olympia Vale."

The monitor flared to life and depicted one of the many hallways of the Hive, Olympia moving down it quietly, seemingly jumping at the slightest sound.

"My daughter's not in trouble for leaving the room is she?"

"Not at all Captain, in fact I ran into her yesterday as you know." Parangosky let a smile make its way onto her face. "She was following a certain Operative around the building."

Barbara was puzzled, not quite understanding what the Admiral was getting at.

"Admiral, Olympia is attempting to enter a restricted area." Both Parangosky and Barbara looked at the monitor, the room in question was labelled as belonging to Section 3, Special Projects.

"Allow her in Lysethia." Barbara went to protest but was cut off by the Admiral. "Don't worry Barbara, I had the area scrubbed of any sensitive information, she won't find anything we don't want her to."

The screen shifted view to inside the restricted area, Another hallway, lined with doors and windows.

Olympia moved from window to window, checking each room for something.

"What's in these rooms? What is she looking for?" Barbara asked. She had never seen this part of the building, it belonged to Section 3, while Barbara was part of Section 2, Military Intelligence.

"Preparation rooms for Section 3 operatives." Lysethia informed her.

"And I think I know what she is looking for." Parangosky said as Olympia finally stopped and began looking intensely through one of the last windows in the corridor. "Lysethia change to prep-room 4F."

Inside the room was the Spartan that had rescued her daughter, B312 if Barbara remembered correctly.

"I managed to discover the circumstances of Olympia's rescue yesterday." Parangosky explained as Barbara looked on. "He saved her from an alien that had managed to enter your apartment. From her tone I assume it was moments before it would have killed her."

Barbara couldn't believe her daughter was so close to death, and the fact that she had opened up to the Admiral before her own mother.

"Now, I believe there is a way we can get your daughter to help with Stolen Dialect, whilst keeping her adequately protected." Parangosky produced a small document. "The Lieutenant is our most competent operative, it was beyond fortunate that he survived Reach."

"Are you sure she will be safe?"

"Without a doubt, when B312 is assigned a task, he will stop at nothing to complete it." Parangosky handed Barbara a further document, an equipment manifest. "I am willing to reassign him from operations in southern Sydney to the listening post in the north. His primary directive will be to protect Olympia, but he will assist in operations in the AO."

"I'm still not sure." Barbara said slowly.

"You will also be able to contact her for a limited time daily." Parangosky still sensed Barbara's hesitation, "She doesn't feel safe here, it isn't too much of an assumption to believe that she feels safer when nearby the one who saved her from certain death."

"I have observed Olympia over the last 30 hours since her arrival." Lysethia interjected, "She has suffered from restless sleep and elevated stress consistently. While in the presence of Operative B312 she has displayed a calm state of mind. However she has not directly interacted with B312 at all in that time."

"Thank you Lysethia." Parangosky turned off the monitor, "We are going to keep observing Olympia for a few days to see if she breaks this trend, it could just be a short term reaction to the shock. But in the event that it is more permanent I will propose this plan to her." Parangosky gestured for Barbara to stand, "I suggest you read that dossier and manifest before the day is over."

Barbara felt a weight lift off of her shoulders, there wasn't much better protection than a Spartan, "Of course Admiral." She saluted and went for the door."

"And Barbara, Stolen Dialect doesn't need anymore attention for now, spend some time with your daughter." For the first time in days, Barbara managed to detect the smallest trace of sincerity from the elderly Admiral.

Barbara then rushed off to find her daughter before she got herself lost in the ONI offices.

* * *

**Captain Barbara Vale**

**Sydney, Australia, Earth**

**October 23, 2552**

Barbara sat at her desk, the room had been cleaned up over the day. The temporary bedding had been removed as both her and Olympia had been given repurposed rooms to sleep in.

Her daughter was currently asleep in their room, leaving Olympia alone to read over the documents Parangosky had given her.

The equipment manifest was actually for Olympia; body armor, rations, medicine and ammunition. Fairly standard stuff.

The dossier on the Spartan was something else. Barely two pages long, given his extensive history with ONI she imagined that if it were uncensored it would be much larger.

Lieutenant B312, even his name was redacted. It listed him as Hyper-Lethal, the highest rating a Spartan can achieve. Especially proficient in stealth operations and raids, she could see why ONI wanted to keep him close to them.

The only operations listed were during his tour with NOBLE team on Reach. He had witnessed 4 of his comrades die, she imagined that would leave a mark on him.

With thousands of confirmed kills, there was no doubt he could protect her daughter from the Covenant.

Though she was unsure what effect being in that environment would have on Olympia. No doubt after Stolen Dialect, both Barbara and Olympia would be expected to 'forgot' B312 and their involvement with the operation. Barbara had no doubt she could do it, she was unsure if Olympia could though.

The Spartan had appeared near them several times throughout the day, Parangosky's doing no doubt. Everytime Olympia began to stare off in his direction, Barbara was certain that Olympia had developed some sort of attachment to the Lieutenant. She could understand it completely, it would only be natural to develop an attachment to the person who saved your life. But if Olympia was to spend days or weeks with the Spartan it would only strengthen that attachment, then she would have to forget all about him. It would devastate her.

Parangosky didn't care about any of that though, results are what mattered to her.

She didn't want to let Olympia go, but it wasn't up to her. Olympia was almost an adult, emotionally she was practically one. If she wanted to go there was nothing Barbara could do to stop her.

And the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed that Olympia was going to accept.

* * *

**(A/N)**

_**Thanks for the reviews everyone!**_

_**I just wanted to mention that this story is not being abandoned, with COVID-19, university, my work and other social commitments I have little time to focus on fanfic. But now my semester is over, and I am on break from my work so I should have much more time to work on this story. **_

_**I have released this short chapter as this is what I had worked on prior to my semester, but I should have a longer chapter out next week!**_

_**I thank all of you for taking the time to read my story, and I look forward to continuing it!**_


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